The Land of Desire
by MinnGirl
Summary: CHAPTER 2 UP!! What would happen if you could to into the Mirror of Erised and live out your deepest desires? Would it be everything you expected? Harry and Draco are about to find out.
1. 1 Through the Mirror

TITLE:  The Land of Desire

AUTHOR:  MinnGirl

PAIRING:  Harry/Draco

RATING:  PG for now.  Will most likely go up in later chapters.

SUMMARY:  What would happen if you could travel into the Mirror of Erised and live out your deepest desires?  Would it be everything that you expected?  Harry and Draco are about to find out.

DISCLAIMER:  The characters are not mine, they all belong to J.K. Rowling.  Who is an absolute genius for giving us such great characters to play around with for a little while.

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Through the Mirror_

For the hundredth time that night, Harry twisted his body around and lay on his opposite side.  This wasn't the first night he couldn't get to sleep and he knew it wouldn't be the last, not as long as the nightmares about Cedric continued.

Everyone had already told Harry that it wasn't his fault that Cedric had died.  He, however, knew that if it wasn't for him, Cedric would still be living.  Everything follows something else, like links in a chain.  If Harry hadn't insisted that Cedric grab the cup with him, then Cedric would still be alive.  If Harry would have reacted faster when the killing curse was cast on Cedric, maybe he could have saved him.  If Harry hadn't even been in the tournament, then Cedric wouldn't have been put in harm's way.  But of course, that all goes back to the biggest link in the chain…Voldemort.  

Harry couldn't stand it anymore.  He sat up with a frustrated sigh and reached for his glasses.  As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see four still shapes huddled under comforters in the other beds.  He wished he could be with them in their wonderful slumber, but knew it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  He felt like walking and thinking.  He couldn't lay here all night and think of all of the "what ifs" of life.

He swung his legs out of bed and made his way over to his trunk.  Opening the lid as quietly as possible, he reached in and felt the soft, smooth material of his father's invisibility cloak.  He pulled it out, draped it around his shoulders, and then silently left the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco traipsed quickly through the corridors.  He had to find that room again.  He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since he had first come across it last night.  He had been tossing and turning in bed tonight, not being able to forget the image that he had seen.

_He had been down in the kitchen for a little snack.  While he was on his way back, he had heard Peeves approaching from around the corner.  Draco had ducked through the nearest available doorway, and quickly shut the door._

_When he had turned around, he saw a room that looked like many other rooms in the castle.  It was a small room with two windows, and there were desks and tables stacked along one side.  They were all covered with dust and he figured that this room must be some kind of storage area.  Then he noticed a mirror standing on the other side of the room.  As he walked towards it, he saw markings all along the frame.  He leaned in closer and realized that the markings were actually words, though seemingly in a language that he couldn't understand.  He studied the frame for a while longer, trying to puzzle out the writing.  When he finally gave up, he then glanced at his own reflection in the mirror and gasped at what he saw._

Yes, what Draco had seen had truly taken his breath away.  And he couldn't wait to see it again.  That's why he was walking purposefully down the corridor, trying to retrace his steps to that room.  As he was walking, he kept an ear listening for Peeves or Filch and his stupid cat, and he kept an eye watching for familiar looking signs.  Signs that might point him in the right direction.  Finally he saw a portrait that he remembered glancing at the night before.  It contained a little boy in a blue outfit, sitting on a tree stump and giggling.  Draco looked around and found the doorway, presumably the one he had used last night.  

He opened it and his eyes immediately darted across the room.  There it was: the mirror that had become such a fixation for Draco in the past 24 hours.  He made his way over to it, stared into its depths, and sighed with relief when he saw what he had been hoping to see.  He was so captivated by the image before him that he didn't notice the door opening and closing, or the soft footsteps making their way to him and the mirror.  He didn't notice anything until he heard a sharp gasp right by his ear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Harry glided silently down the hall, he couldn't help thinking how different his life would be if Voldemort was dead.  Cedric would be alive and Harry wouldn't feel so guilty.  Maybe he would even get more than two hours of sleep at a time.  He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that something was following him.

_Meow._

Harry started.  He looked over his shoulder and spotted Mrs. Norris strutting down the hallway behind him.  He knew that wherever Mrs. Norris was, her owner, Mr. Filch, wasn't far behind.  Even though he was invisible, he couldn't trust himself to be quiet enough to fool Filch.  He looked around for the nearest escape and spotted a doorway to his left.  He quickly ran to it and pushed his way through.  

Once inside, he leaned against the closed door, trying to calm his heart.  Currently it was beating like a jackhammer.  He was also watching the door handle over his shoulder to make sure that Filch hadn't seen the door open and close and decided to investigate it.  When he was quite sure that he wasn't being followed, he looked around the room and was surprised to see Malfoy…standing in front of the Mirror of Erised!  

Harry almost giggled.  Malfoy was standing so close to the mirror, it looked like he was actually trying to walk into it.  His face was only inches away from the smooth glass and his mouth was hanging open.  Harry's curiosity got the best of him, and he crossed the room to stand behind Malfoy.  He had to know what Malfoy's greatest desire was.  He looked into the mirror and was surprised to see…himself.  Standing next to Malfoy.  But surely the mirror couldn't project his reflection if he was invisible.  But wait…why was the Malfoy in the mirror reaching up to cup Harry's face, and why were his eyes closing as he leaned in closer?  When the two figures in the mirror touched lips, Harry gasped.

Immediately Malfoy turned around to find the origin of the noise.  As he did so, he lost his balance and started to fall backwards towards the mirror.  His hands reached out reflexively and grabbed onto Harry's arm.  Before either realized what was happening, they were falling into the mirror…and out through the other side.  


	2. 2 Mysteries and Letters

TITLE:  The Land of Desire

AUTHOR:  MinnGirl

PAIRING:  Harry/Draco

RATING:  PG for now.  Will most likely go up in later chapters.

SUMMARY:  What would happen if you could travel into the Mirror of Erised and live out your deepest desires?  Would it be everything that you expected?  Harry and Draco are about to find out.

DISCLAIMER:  The characters are not mine; they all belong to J.K. Rowling.  Who is an absolute genius for giving us such great characters to play around with for a little while.

****

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Mysteries and Letters_

_Before either realized what was happening, they were falling into the mirror…and out through the other side…_

Or seemed to.  Harry didn't hear or feel the mirror break like he was expecting.  When he opened his eyes, he was laying on top of Malfoy, his head buried in the other boy's chest.  It was as if they had just bounced off of the mirror; of the image Harry had seen right before it happened.  

Draco however, couldn't see the source of the pressure on his body.  "Whoever you are, get the hell off me," he growled.

Harry was suddenly aware of (and extremely thankful for) the fact that he was still invisible.  Malfoy didn't know that Harry had seen his deepest desire and Harry wanted to keep it that way.  He jumped off of Malfoy, clutching the invisibility cloak protectively around his body.  He then bolted out of the room.  He paid no heed to the fact that Filch could come around a corner at any moment.  He ran the whole way back to his dorm, and didn't stop until he had closed the door behind him and had leaped into his bed, stuffing his cloak under his mattress.  

If Malfoy ever found out that Harry had been watching him, he would surely hunt him down and end his life in one swift flick of his wand.  Then Harry remembered what he had seen.  Maybe instead of killing Harry, he would just pin him down…and kiss him.  As the thought occurred to Harry, he expected the repulsion he had felt earlier, when looking into the mirror, to return.  Instead, he was surprised to feel a smile creep onto his lips at the very prospect of Malfoy kissing him.

_I must be more sleep deprived than I thought_, were Harry's last thoughts before he drifted into a dreamless sleep. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After whoever…or whatever…had been on top of Draco jumped off and fled the room, he got up and brushed off his robes.  As he did so, he glanced once more at the strange mirror and saw…himself.  Only himself. 

_Must have messed it up when me and…whatever…bounced off it.  God I just hope it wasn't Peeves.  I would never hear the end of it if he saw what I had been staring at.  _

He made his way to the door, and then continued silently and carefully down the hall towards the dungeons.  It didn't occur to him, until he was climbing through the entrance to the Slytherin common room, that if a ghost were to land on him, he wouldn't have felt it.  He also suspected that if a ghost came near him, he would have felt quite cold.  Whoever had been on top of him had been pleasantly warm.  As that thought led to him thinking of exactly which warm body he would have wanted on top of him, he forgot to be concerned with the mystery person in the room.  He climbed into his bed and pulled the curtains closed, falling asleep with a faint smile on his lips.

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The next morning, Draco woke up late.  In fact, when he pulled back the curtains, all the other boys seemed to be gone from his dorm already.

_Strange, Crabbe and Goyle usually make sure I never sleep in, he thought as he quickly pulled on some robes and swept his fingers through his hair.  He was so preoccupied with trying to pull himself together that he ran right into the post of one of the beds as he was hopping around trying to tie his shoe.  He fell backwards and found himself staring at the ceiling.  As he slowly sat back up with a moan, he noticed there were more beds in the dorm than there had been the previous morning.  He knew it didn't make any sense.  Who would move some extra beds into the dorm?  He wasn't able to give it much thought, because it was then that he looked at his watch and saw that breakfast had started 15 minutes ago.     _

He snagged his tie off the back of his desk chair and raced out of the room.  He ran into the Great Hall and immediately headed over to Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table.

"You idiots!  You aren't supposed to let me sleep that late," he yelled, piercing them both with a glare.

Crabbe and Goyle looked from Draco, to each other, then back to Draco.  "What?  Why can't you get yourself up?" Goyle said, standing up and stepping closer to Draco.  "Why would you ever think that it was our job?"  He was now towering a whole foot over Draco, and it was at that moment that Draco realized he had no more control over those two.  They had never questioned him, let alone stand up to him.

_What the hell is going on? thought Draco, as he said, "Sorry, just kidding.  Guess I shouldn't have stayed out so late last night.  Just a little tired and snappy is all."  __Wait, did I just apologize to Goyle?  Seriously, what is going on here?  _

He looked at the other people sitting near his two former assistants.  He knew almost all of them of course, except he did see two faces he didn't recognize at first.  Then the names popped into his head:  Graham Miller and Roger Hupley.  They had been children of friends of his father's.  Hadn't they gone to Durmstrang?

He sat down across from Crabbe and next to Graham.  As he was contemplating the likeliness of two of his former friends moving back to Hogwarts overnight, hence the extra beds, he glanced over at the Gryffindor table.  He saw Harry sitting next to the Weasel, but for some reason, the Mudblood was seated down the table farther, talking to some other girls.  

_That's different.  They're always together.  What had finally split up the trio?_

He looked back at the boys sitting near him and noticed something even more odd.  They weren't all hanging on every word that he was…or was not rather…saying.  In fact they were hardly even looking at him.  It was as if they didn't know who he was.  Wait, that wasn't quite true either.  They knew who he was, they just didn't care.  

He started to gulp down his breakfast as fast as he could.  He needed to get away and try to figure out how things had changed so much in one night.  As he took a sip of his pumpkin juice, he once again found himself looking across the room at Harry.  He was petting an owl, and opening up a letter.  He smiled expectantly as he unfolded it, but as he read through it, then finally glanced down at the bottom, Draco saw Harry drop the letter and turn white.  He uttered a silent cry and then fell backwards out of his chair.   

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Hey guys, sorry this was so short and just made things more confusing.  I don't have the energy to write more right now.  I am going to try to get it updated really fast, and since I have 6 hours to do play at work tomorrow, I might write the next chapter.  But after that, I need to go out of town for a friend's funeral, so it will be a few days.  L

And thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapter!!  You make me smile and work harder to write new chapters!

**Amethyst:**  I am going to use my Author powers a tiny bit, but I promise I will explain how the mirror thing happened in a little while.  It will all make sense in the end!!

**Kimmy:**  Thanks for reviewing this and "Do You Believe in Stars"!!

**MistWalker:**  I hope it stays interesting for you.  As you can see it did not take them to MWPP days.  But that does sound intriguing.

**CalMnLA:**  Thank you!

**BabyPufoo:**  Here you go, and thanks!  I tried to hurry!

**Glassvase:**  I hope this was fast enough!


	3. Surprises in Envelopes

TITLE:  The Land of Desire

AUTHOR:  MinnGirl

PAIRING:  Harry/Draco

RATING:  PG for now.  Will most likely go up in later chapters.

SUMMARY:  What would happen if you could travel into the Mirror of Erised and live out your deepest desires?  Would it be everything that you expected?  Harry and Draco are about to find out.

DISCLAIMER:  The characters are not mine; they all belong to J.K. Rowling.  Who is an absolute genius for giving us such great characters to play around with for a little while.

****

**CHAPTER THREE**

_Surprises in Envelopes_

"Harry?" 

The voice came to Harry as if through a tunnel, and very far away.  

"Harry?" it came again, starting to get louder and to clarify.  It was also deepening into a slightly husky sound.  

"Harry, wake up, you're gonna be late for breakfast."  Now Harry recognized the voice as that of his best friend, Ron Weasley.  When he opened his eyes, he wasn't entirely surprised to see a blurry shock of red perched atop the blurry blackness of Hogwarts robes.  

"Ok Ron, I'm up.  I'll meet you guys downstairs in a few minutes," he said while feeling for his glasses on the table beside his bed.  

"Fine, but hurry, I'm starving," Ron said as he exited the room.

Harry grumbled under his breath as he pulled back the sweet warmth of his bed sheets and swung his bare feet onto the chilling wood floor.  He hurriedly grabbed some clothes out of his trunk and crossed to the bathroom.  After getting dressed, Harry brushed his teeth.  He had already taken too long, and he knew Ron would be sick of waiting for him.  He glanced once more at the mirror, running his fingers through his hair, giving it his best attempt to tame the wild strands.  As he did so, his forehead became briefly exposed and Harry froze.  

His forehead was bare.  Absolutely spotless.  What had happened to his scar?  He stared for a few moments, and then bolted out of the bathroom and down to the common room, barely remembering to snag his shoes on the way out of the dorm.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, upon seeing his friend about to exit the common room through the portrait hole.  Ron turned his head to glance over his shoulder as he proceeded to climb through the opening.  Harry quickly followed him.

"Ron, look at me," Harry began, as he hopped down the hallway after his friend, attempting to put on his shoes as he spoke.  "Do you notice anything different?" he questioned.

"Yes, as a matter of fact.  You happen to look like a complete idiot hopping around one on foot," Ron replied, stopping to help his friend with the other shoe.

"No, that's not what I mean.  Look at my face."

"What?  Do you have a new pimple or something?  Did you get new glasses?" Ron studied Harry's face with a mixture of impatience and confusion painted across his features.

Harry grasped the hair on his forehead and pulled it back, exposing the smooth skin to Ron.  "My scar is gone."  Harry studied Ron's face, waiting for the reaction he had expected in the first place.

"What scar?  Did you get hurt in Quidditch or something?  If you did have a scar there, then I would say it healed up pretty well.  You can't even tell," Ron replied as he continued on his way to the Great Hall.

Harry stood in place stunned for a second, then hurried to catch up to Ron.

"Seriously, you know what I am talking about.  You know the lightning-shaped scar that has been on my forehead ever since I was a year old.  If you're joking around, then it is not funny."

"Harry, you sound like the one joking around.  Honestly, who gets scars shaped like lightning?  And if you would have had a scar since you were that young right in the middle of your forehead, don't you think I might have noticed by now?" Ron said as he pulled open the door of the Great Hall and followed Harry inside.

Now Harry was utterly confused.  Why was Ron pretending not to know about his scar, and what had happened to it in the first place?  As he made his way to an empty seat at the Gryffindor table, he scanned the Slytherin table for a sign of Malfoy.  He was still hoping he hadn't figured out that Harry had been watching him last night.

He didn't appear to be there yet, so Harry turned his gaze to the other tables.  He noticed Cho sitting at the Ravenclaw table.  Harry hadn't been able to approach her much since Cedric's death.  She looked happy now though, so he figured she was moving on, and that was good.  He glanced at the Hufflepuff table and imagined Cedric sitting there amongst his friends.  He was surprised his imagination was working so well, as he would have sworn he actually saw Cedric sitting between two Hufflepuff girls, making both giggle uncontrollably.  Harry shook his head in a feeble attempt to clear it and turned back to his own table.  

As he sat down next to Ron, he spotted Hermione sitting a few seats down on the opposite side.  She was seated between Lavendar and Parvati, and she looked excellent.  She had her hair done up and appeared to be wearing makeup.  She was always complaining about how her two dormmates had wanted to give her a makeover, maybe she had finally conceded this morning.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, grabbing food form the nearest plate in front of him.  

She glanced at him and looked utterly surprised.  She gave him a faint smile, and then returned to talking to Parvati.

"What did you talk to her for?" Ron questioned.  Before Harry had time to reply to the perplexing question, he heard the flap of wings and hoots of owls.  He looked up, automatically scanning the crowd of feathers for the snowy white ones of Hedwig.  Instead, a tawny owl settled in front of Harry and held out his leg, waiting patiently for Harry to detach the letter that was tied there.

After he untied the letter, he gave the owl a bit of egg and watched it fly away.  He turned his attention back to the letter in his hands, hoping it would be from Sirius.  He needed to write to him anyway, to tell him about the strange disappearance of his scar.  But as he looked at the writing on the envelope, he noticed it wasn't Sirius'.  In fact, it looked like it must belong to a girl of some sort. 

As images of a mysterious girl sending love letters flashed through his mind, Harry opened up the letter and quickly glanced at the signature.  It read:  Mom.  Then the world went black. 

"Harry?"

For the second time that morning, Harry felt as if he was moving through a tunnel towards a distant voice.

"Harry, wake up!"  Then it occurred to Harry.  He must have just been dreaming, and this was him actually waking up for the morning.  As he gained consciousness again, he thought he was just waking up.  Until he opened his eyes, and saw Ron standing above him, in the Hospital wing.  

"Harry, you're awake.  Are you all right?  What happened?" Ron questioned quickly.  The words seemed to spill out of his mouth in a jumble.  

Harry sat bolt upright in the bed and said, "Ron, I got a letter.  From my mom…" Harry began, but Ron interrupted with, "I know.  You dropped it so I brought it here for you to read."  As he spoke, he thrust the letter back into Harry's hand.

Harry glanced down at it, and then dropped it as if it were on fire.  He looked back up at Ron, who was peering at Harry as if he had the plague.

"Are you ok?  Have you not been eating enough lately?  People don't just randomly pass out upon receiving letters from their parents.  Unless it was maybe a Howler of course."

"Ron, you don't think it's strange that I received a letter from my mother, who is supposed to be dead?" Harry asked incredulously.

Now it was Ron's turn to be shocked.  "Dead?  Since when?  Where did you hear that?" he asked in a loud voice.

"Since the night I got this scar…well, the scar that used to be there.  Since as long as I can remember.  Why are pretending you don't know?" Harry asked accusingly.

"Look Harry, I don't know what you're talking about.  Honest.  But I do think you need some rest, so I'm going to go.  Please get some sleep; it will all make more sense in the morning."  Then Ron gave Harry a weak smile and hurried out the door.

When Harry was left alone, he glanced at the letter on the floor.  He hadn't read it before.  He had just looked at the name and that is all he remembered.  It occurred to him then that it could all be a joke, some cruel joke that someone had played just to see his reaction.  _I sure gave them a good one.   Who did he know who would do something like that?  Of course...Malfoy.  But then Harry remembered not noticing Malfoy at breakfast, and wouldn't he want to be there to see his handiwork play out?  __Maybe if I read it I'll be able to figure out who did it._

He reached down and scooped it up in his hand.  He unfolded it slowly and carefully, afraid of what the letter would say.

_Harry~_

_Congratulations on your fine Quidditch match.  Your father and I are so very proud.   Sirius was very excited that he got to see it and he has filled us in on all the details.  And of course your uncles are ecstatic at the thrill of beating Slytherin again._

_ We all can't wait to see you for Christmas.  Hannah asks every day when you are coming home.  _

_Good luck with all your classes, and we will see you next week!_

_Love,_

_Mom   _

As Harry studied the loose curves of the handwriting, and read over it once more, he wasn't sure anymore if it had been a joke.  Who, besides Ron and Hermione, knew about Sirius?  But who was Hannah?  Even though the letter put more questions in his head, Harry desperately wished that it was true.  He wished that he was the sort of boy to receive letters like this from his parents.  He had always wished that.  The possibility that it might actually have happened, caused tears to fall from Harry's eyes.  

He clutched the letter to his chest, then rolled over and cried himself to sleep. 

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I read back over my last two chapters, and they are so bad.  I will rewrite them very soon for your benefit, as well as mine.  Please review this chapter.  No one reviewed my last chapter…sad, but I will continue to write anyway.  Just because I need this out of my head.  Also, if any of you have figured out where this is headed yet, and know of anything that might be different in this Land of Desire, let me know.  I already have a long list of things, but I am sure I missed some fun ones.


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